In case you were sleeping... FireFox2.0 and Internet Explorer 7.0 are both out.

Iris wrote some interesting things about game characters in her blog.

Some other interesting Podcasts if you are into web 2.0 development.

• Ruby on Rails Podcast - especially the interview with Glenn, Vanderburg.
  
• Ajaxian Podcast- especially the interview with Glenn Vanderburg
  

or into technology entrepreneurship:

• Venture Voice

  ¶ 6:59 AM 1 comments

  Ruby on Rails ... is GREAT. It is fun. It is the best way to write a web application. Get it here now! Ruby is a pure object oriented programming language that uses meta-programming (use programs to write programs)

Ruby on Rails (RoR) is a web framework built on Ruby that uses a modified version of the Model-View-Controller design pattern which every good programmer must know and use for User-Interfaced based applications - like a website and a game.

It includes a web server but you can also run it on Apache and IIS with some changes. I think it is not necessary to do that until you want to deploy.

If you use Windows and want to try RoR:

1. Download the Ruby for Windows Installer.
2. When you have installed it, start the command prompt and type: gem install rails --include-dependencies
3. To use MySQL with RoR, download the MySQL/Ruby driver instead of using the built in gem -install (assuming you already have MySQL server installed).

If you want a PHP framework that is based on the design of RoR check out Code Igniter. But seriously, you should take a look of RoR.

The Wikipedia article on RoR is a good introduction.

Check out BaseCamp and CampFire, which is done by 37 Signals - a pioneer in the concept of web 2.0 and AJAX.  ¶ 6:14 AM 1 comments

  Microsoft Firefox 2007
System Requirements

• Microsoft(R) Windows(TM)/Vista Operating System
• Microsoft Office 2007, Firefox must run with Word and Excel.
• 2GB of DDR-3 RAM because of massive memory leak problems due to javascript hack.
  
• 1GB Hard Disk space.
• Microsoft Paint - all bitmap files will be saperated displayed here.

COST: US$1, 000, 000 per license  ¶ 5:45 PM 0 comments

  Web 2.0 and Gaming There have been much hype on "Web 2.0" over the last few years and it has finally reached backward Malaysia. And I, being in Malaysia for two years have caught on the backward bug. I remember e-xiang talking about AJAX-based technology about a year and half ago but I didn't bother. Now Hatchlings Games is developing a prototype trading card game for the web.

So yeah, we are developing a trading card game. I can't tell you the details of the game yet but I hope you can see the alpha version live for yourself at the end of the month. Nevertheless, we are about 40% to alpha release. Zie Aun is doing concept and design. Iris, Kwang, Moy doing art & animation. Kuan is doing the flash client & java server. I am working on the web app and database.

But this post is not about Hatchling’s first game, but rather about the design (not talking about game mechanics design), technologies and the near future.

Combining Web 2.0 (think Google, Flickr, BitTorent, Digg) and online gaming means using the web as a complete platform to deliver entertainment. Think YouTube; which disrupted the entire platform for video publishing and distribution.

A game of the near future:

• has the usual good gameplay, graphics, etc.
• doesn't take longer than 10 seconds to load
  
• allow for user expression and encourage emergence (i.e. Will Wright’s Spore)
• has a fun underlying game mechanics but the game mechanics (not just the social element) becomes more fun as more people play it
• is for everyone (blurring the line between the demographics)
• is educational besides entertaining
• is linked to other media
  

A Web 2.0 site:

• is an attitude; let's blog, go google that up, tag me, subsribe to my feed
• treats the web as a complete platform, filling in the space between the user's browser and the web's contents (by the user and other users).
  
• is made up of small components loosely coupled together at the request of the user
• 's most valuable asset is its data that is generated by its uers.
  
• allow content to come to the user rather than the user going to the content; like www.onelurv.com
• is about participation rather than publishing and servers.
• is made for more than just the web browser.
  
• is in a perpectual beta; The Google / Open Source way, no scheduled release but rather: release early, release often.
• is all about the user.
  

Web 2.0 IS about PLAY, so where are the games? Are you ready for the Web 2.0 Game of the near future?

Lastly, if you haven't already, do checkout JumboPlay, which allow you to download and stream (yes STREAM) full original games to your hard disk. I highly recommend it.  ¶ 7:03 AM 0 comments